World briefs

Wednesday

Jan 30, 2008 at 1:42 AM

ALTAGRACIA DE ORITUCO, VENEZUELA

Gunmen arrested

after trying to flee

Gunmen who held more than 30 hostages inside a Venezuelan bank for over 24 hours fled in an ambulance and were caught Tuesday along a roadside, where they surrendered and freed their last five captives.

The gunmen first let three hostages go and then negotiated with police while holding onto the last two, Guarico state Gov. Eduardo Manuitt said.

QUITO, ECUADOR

Investigation starts

into sea lions' killing

Ecuadorean authorities are investigating the clubbing deaths of more than 50 Galapagos Islands sea lions found in January with their skulls cracked, a state prosecutor said Tuesday.

The killings had to be committed by humans, said Jaime Estevez, who called it the work of "the criminal mind of some people who enjoy watching these animals suffer." The Galapagos Islands were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979 for their unique plant and animal life.

LONDON

Six authors on list

for Arabic prize

Six authors from Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt are on the shortlist as finalists for the first-ever International Prize for Arabic Fiction. The winner will be announced March 10 at a ceremony in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

The award, backed by the Emirates Foundation, is intended as an Arabic counterpart to the prestigious Man Booker Prize, open to writers from Britain, Ireland and the Commonwealth of former British colonies.

LONDON

Five get prison time

for $100 million heist

Four men who stole $100 million from a security depot in Britain's largest cash robbery were sentenced Tuesday to at least 15 years in prison. A fifth was ordered to serve 10 years.

The five were convicted Monday of robbery, kidnapping and firearms charges for the elaborate raid on the Securitas Cash Management Ltd. depot in Tonbridge, about 30 miles southeast of London, in February 2006.

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA

Chickens slaughtered

after bird flu found

Saudi Arabia said Tuesday it had killed some 158,000 chickens after the deadly H5N1 bird flu strain was found at an infected farm.

The birds were killed in Kharaj province, south of the capital, Riyadh, according to a statement by the Agriculture Ministry. About 475 workers were tested, but no human infections were found.

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN

Court gives damages

to Muslim women

Two Muslim women blocked from a swimming pool for refusing to change their clothing won more than $3,100 each in damages Tuesday.

The women -- dressed in headscarves, sweatpants and long-sleeved T-shirts -- accompanied their children to the public pool on two occasions in April 2004 but were asked to leave after refusing to change their clothes.

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